Qual Saf Health Care
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Qual Saf Health Care · Dec 2009
Evidence-based chronic heart failure management programs: reality or myth?
Chronic heart failure management programmes (CHF-MPs) have become part of standard care for patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). ⋯ CHF-MPs are being implemented rapidly throughout Australia. However, many of these programmes do not adhere to expert clinical guidelines for the management of patients with CHF. This poor translation of evidence into practice highlights the inconsistency and questions the quality of health-related outcomes for these patients.
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Qual Saf Health Care · Apr 2003
ReviewImproving the detection and management of depression in primary care.
The effectiveness of screening and organisational strategies to improve the recognition and management of depression in primary care published in a recent issue of Effective Health Care is reviewed.
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Qual Saf Health Care · Oct 2009
Meta AnalysisImproving the use of venous thromboembolism prophylaxis in an Australian teaching hospital.
Hospital-acquired venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a potentially fatal complication of hospitalisation, with meta-analyses and guidelines supporting the use of proven prophylactic measures (graduated compression stockings (GCS) and anticoagulants). Despite this, prophylaxis is underutilised and represents one of the largest gaps between evidence and current clinical practice. ⋯ Affordable and accessible interventions can improve the application of VTE prophylaxis guidelines into daily hospital care and are associated with reductions in this potentially life-threatening complication.
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Qual Saf Health Care · Dec 2010
A 5-year analysis of rapid response system activation at an in-hospital haemodialysis unit.
To study the incidence, patient and event characteristics, and outcome of rapid response system (RRS) activation on an in-hospital haemodialysis unit. ⋯ From our findings, it can be suggested that critical events often occur before and after dialysis treatment, during or awaiting transport. Careful assessment of these high-risk patients before and after transport, to and from the dialysis unit may be warranted.
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Qual Saf Health Care · Dec 2004
Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical TrialSimulation based teamwork training for emergency department staff: does it improve clinical team performance when added to an existing didactic teamwork curriculum?
To determine if high fidelity simulation based team training can improve clinical team performance when added to an existing didactic teamwork curriculum. ⋯ High fidelity medical simulation appears to be a promising method for enhancing didactic teamwork training. This approach, using a number of patients, is more representative of clinical care and is therefore the proper paradigm in which to perform teamwork training. It is, however, unclear how much simulator based training must augment didactic teamwork training for clinically meaningful differences to become apparent.